From beachfront camp sites to amenity-laden caravan parks, the best Hervey Bay camping tees up idyllic outdoor exploration.
I’m overwhelmed with activity options in the small coastal city of Hervey Bay. Swim with whales, take a scenic flight over neighbouring K’gari, go on a jet skiing escapade along the placid coastline… the options are limitless. And if you’re anything like me, that yearning for uncharted action doesn’t stop after dark. My advice? Pair daytime adventures with nights under the stars. From unblemished camping grounds to quiet caravan parks (delightfully, they’re not as wild as most) that embrace their natural surroundings, the best Hervey Bay camping fuels all-day enchantment. Here are my favourites.
In short
If you only stay at one campsite in Hervey Bay, choose Discovery Parks — Fraser Street, Hervey Bay. The glamping tents are unique to the region and it’s surprisingly tranquil during the day because everyone’s out exploring nearby attractions.
Ingenia Holidays Hervey Bay
Let’s start with one of the wackiest, most unforgettable Hervey Bay camping options of all. Sure, Ingenia Holidays Hervey Bay is home to your standard powered and unpowered sites plus units, cabins and villas, but its Bel Air Retro Caravan is wholly unlike anything you’ve experienced. Starting from $199 per night and sleeping up to five guests, it’s a total 1950s time warp, complete with checkerboard flooring both inside and across the private outdoor chill area. You’ve got your own bathroom, dining table, barbecue, double bed, triple bunk beds and kitchenette, while novelty fuel cans have been moulded into bar stools out front. Travelling with your fur babies? Unfortunately, the retro stay isn’t pet-friendly, but many of this Hervey Bay camping hot spot’s accommodation is. Facilities include a swimming pool, a games room, a laundry, a kids’ bouncing pillow, a kiosk, a camp kitchen, accessible bathrooms, a tennis court, a playground and a dump point. Price-wise, unpowered sites start from $42 per night, powered ones go from $79 per night, and cabins start from $149 per night.
Address: 105 Truro St, Torquay
Discovery Parks – Fraser Street, Hervey Bay
I bring a campervan into Discovery Parks – Fraser Street, Hervey Bay, a lush, tree-dotted space located just a five-minute stroll from Torquay Beach and an easy walk to some of Hervey Bay’s best restaurants. It’s a good move, parked right near the amenities block and one of its two swimming pools, but I must admit — I’m a bit jealous of the lakeside glampers. The Hervey Bay accommodation offers Deluxe Safari Tents that sleep up to four guests and they’re positioned at the water’s edge with decks featuring dining tables and barbecues. How good is that?
Back in my camper, I’m beyond comfortable though. I make good use of the swimming pool, laundry, camp kitchen, barbecues and dump point, while kids grin all around me as they hop between biking the grounds, the bouncing pillow, the tennis court and the playground. As for the nitty gritties at this very chilled out Hervey Bay camping option, pets are welcome, there are accessible bathrooms, you’re encouraged to feed the resident lorikeets (BYO birdseed, I’m advised) and prices start from roughly $200 per night for the glamping tents, $158 per night for cabins and $46 for powered sites.
Address: 20 Fraser Street, Torquay
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Trinity Islands Holiday Park
Trinity Islands Holiday Park is set around a 4.5-hectare lake and features two spectacular islands to camp upon. The camping sites are spacious, offering serious lakefront serenity, and leashed pets are welcome. This Hervey Bay camping beauty is stripped back to basics, letting you lean into nature while that epic lake offers all the activity. Explore it by kayak or SUP, go for a swim, indulge in a spot of ‘catch and release’ fishing or relax on an inland beach.
This place also fronts the Burrum River – a great spot for swimming and fishing – while keeping you just a 25-minute drive from the centre of Hervey Bay. There’s no need to leave the camp’s grounds though, really — they’re stocked with ice, bait, drinks, gas and firewood. Choose from unpowered and powered sites as well as cabins, with prices starting from about $32 per night for unpowered, $42 for powered and $130 for a cabin.
Address: 805 Burrum Heads Rd, Burrum River
Pialba Beachfront Tourist Park
Location, location, location. If you’re all about a beachfront escape, book into the Pialba Beachfront Tourist Park, a Hervey Bay camping spot right on the Esplanade. It’s home to all the facilities and amenities you’d expect from a holiday park — think a camp laundry, a camp kitchen, barbecues and picnic areas — while its incredible proximity to the town’s best bits helps seal the deal. Kids will adore cutting loose in the neighbouring WetSide Water Park, open seasonally and free to enter, plus there are boutiques and eateries within a short stroll. Guests with access needs are catered for via multiple accessible-friendly facilities. Pets are not allowed. Overnight digs come in the shape of beachfront and non-beachfront camp sites offering power and no power, and prices start from roughly $45 per night.
Address: 267 Esplanade, Pialba
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Burrum Coast National Park
Looking to get away from it all? Set up shop right on the Burrum Coast. It’s just over an hour’s drive north-west of Hervey Bay but feels positively light years away. Choose from two sections of the park to camp in: Kinkuna bush camping or the Burrum Point camping area, both of which require a camping permit (from $7.50 per night) and a national park fee which should be organised well in advance to avoid competing with crowds. To reach either site, you’ll need a high clearance 4WD, but the payoff is remarkable. These little-known, hard-to-access campsites provide a bounty of tranquillity. They’re both shaded by eucalypt and casuarina trees, and located behind foredunes, just a short walk to the beach. Burrum Point has only 13 sites but offers water, cold showers and flush toilets, while Kinkuna has 40 sites and none of those luxuries, however it allows campfires and generators (conditions apply).
Address: Burrum Coast National Park, Woodgate
Poona Palms Caravan Park
While you’re considering the wider region, let me throw Poona Palms Caravan Park onto your radar. Located right along the Great Sandy Strait, it’s a heavenly coastal stay filled with powered and unpowered sites, villas, cabins and even motel-style rooms. The serenity you’ll find here is pretty intoxicating as activities span fishing, boating, sprawling out over water-facing grasslands, beach hangs, 4X4 off-roading and pumping yabbies. The best drawcard, in my book? The Strait is filled with so much marine life including vibrant sea birds, dugong, turtles and dolphins, so just kicking back and getting to know adorable locals is easy. Break up your nature fix by exploring facilities that span a cafe (how convenient) which doubles as a bar in the afternoons (double convenient), a kiosk, a laundry, a camp kitchen, a playground, a swimming pool, barbecues, and basketball and tennis courts. There’s also a dump point, plus this spot is pet-friendly as can be with a doggie wash and dog-friendly cabins. Powered sites start from about $49 per night, while four-walled options start climbing from about $157.
Address: 103 Boronia Dr, Poona
